Anchoring flexible sheeting



Nov. 21, 1967 K. J. STALLER 3,353,548

ANCHORING FLEXIBLE SHEETING Filed Aug. 24, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS K. J. STALLER ANCHQRING FLEXIBLE SHEETING Nov. 21, 1967 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 24, 1965 INVENTOR. @za $744052 ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent 3,353,548 ANCHORING FLEXIBLE SHEETING Karel J.Staller, Rutherford, N.J., assignor to Flexrgrlp, Inc., New York, N.Y.,a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 482,204 Claims.(Cl. 135-5) This invention relates generally to fasteners for securingthe ends of a sheet to an anchoring surface and more particularly tosuch fasteners which allow releasable securement of the ends of a sheetto an anchoring surface by relative movement of a portion of thefastener with respect to another portion thereof.

This invention has particular application in the securing of sheets ofmaterials such as vinyl, polyethylene or coated canvasses to the groundor to a hard surface. The invention also contemplates a holder forpliable plastics, fabric screens, or covers used in households, publicrooms, airplanes, or boats, etc. Protective canvasses or sheets forswimming pools or other areas to be protected may be releasably securedto an anchoring surface by means of the present invention.

The sheets or canvasses which protect the areas must be easily attachedto their anchoring surfaces and must be supported stably and securelyand yet be easily removed. Many other environments require improvedsheetanchoring means such as for attaching protective canvasses over aboat or machinery, attaching tent structures to an earth anchor, orprotecting building sites or other areas where the canvass must beeasily attached and removed with a simplified reliable attachmentdevice.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide animproved anchoring means for attaching a flexible sheet to a rigidanchor which accommodates rapid and easy attachment and removal andwhich permits repeated reuse.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a 2-piece sheetholder which allows removal of the sheet therefrom in a simple andeflicient manner.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a 2-piecesheet holder wherein one piece is releasable with respect to the otherpiece.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more fully realized and understood from the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a sectioned elevational view of a swimming pool illustratinga protective sheet anchored in place by a fastener embodying theprinciples of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective shown partially in section and brokenaway and illustrating one preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view shown partially in section and brokenaway and illustrating an alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view shown partially in section and brokenaway and illustrating still another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the fastener illustrated inFIGURE 4 showing the relative position of one portion of the fastenerwith respect to the other portion thereof;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view partially in section and broken away ofstill another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view partially in section and broken awayillustrating yet another embodiment of the present invention which maybe employed for hanging and supporting curtain structures.

As shown on the drawings:

Like reference numerals throughout the various views of the drawings areintended to designate the same or similar structures.

A swimming pool generally designated with the reference numeral 10 isillustrated in FIGURE 1 as having a bottom wall 12 and side walls 14 and16. Extending from the side walls 14 and 16 at ground level are concretecurves 18 and 20 constituting anchoring surfaces.

A fastener 22 is secured to each of the anchoring surfaces 18, 20 bymeans of bolts 24. A sheet 26 of covering material such as plastic orfabric extends over the swimming pool 10 and is secured at respectiveedges thereof by means of the fasteners 22. It is to be understood thatthe fasteners 22 may each extend the entire length of the sheet 26 ormay be relatively short in comparison to the length of the sheet 26, anda plurality of such short units may be employed for fastening one edgeof the sheet 26 to the anchoring surfaces 18, 20.

FIGURE 2 illustrates, in greater detail, an edge portion of the sheet 26releasably secured by the fastener 22 to the anchoring surface 20. Asshown therein, the sheet 26 includes an enlarged and grooved edge 28,which edge may be formed as a part of the sheet 26 or may be bonded tothe sheet 26 as desired. An attachment member 30 shaped in the form of aT includes a web portion 32 secured within the groove 28 and a headportion 34. The edge attachment illustrated in FIGURE 2 is onlyexemplary of one of a number of possible arrangements for securing theattachment member 30 to the sheet 26. The attachment member 30 can bebonded directly to an edge of the sheet 26 and the grooved edge 28 canbe eliminated, if desired. The head portion 34 includes a pair ofshoulders 36 and 37 facing substantially away from an edge of the sheet26.

The fastener 22 includes an anchoring member 38 which is secured to theanchoring surface 20 by means of the bolt 24. The anchoring member 38includes an anchoring flange 40 through which the bolt 24 extends intothe anchoring surface 20. The anchor member 38 also includes a backsupporting wall 44 and a retaining flange 46 each extending upwardlyfrom the anchoring flange 40. The wall 44 and flange 46 form a groove 48for receiving a portion of the attachment member 30. An inner surface ofthe retaining flange 46 within the groove 48 is abutted by the shoulder37 of the attachment member 30.

The fastener 22 also includes a clamping member 50 having a retainingflange 52 which forms another surface of the groove 48 in cooperationwith the wall 44 and the flange 46. An inner surface of the flange 52within the groove 48 abuts with the shoulder 36 of the attachment member30. The retaining flange 52 extends downwardly from a top wall 54 of theclamping member 50 which is supported on the wall 44 of the anchormember 38. A back wall 56 extends downwardly from the top wall 54 of theclamping member 50 and abuts with a rear surface of the wall 44. Theclamping member 50 is secured to the anchor member 38 by means of ascrew 58 extending through the top wall 54 and into threaded engagementwith the back supporting wall 44.

As previously mentioned, the fastener 22 illustrated in FIGURE 2 may beone continuous unit extending the entire length of the sheet 26 or aplurality of smaller units may be employed along the length of an edgeof the sheet 26. It can be readily appreciated from the illustration ofFIGURE 2 that the fastener 22 of the present invention provides severalnovel results in the securement of a sheet to an anchoring surface. Forinstance, if a plurality of relatively short fasteners 22 are providedfor retaining an edge of the sheet 26, the sheet 26 may be manipulatedbetween each of the fasteners 22 by individually loosening the clampingmember with respect to the anchoring member 38. That is, if a pluralityof fasteners 22 are employed to secure one edge of the sheet 26 to ananchoring surface, one of the fasteners 22 may be loosened to manipulatethe sheet 26 while the other fasteners 22 along the same edge of thesheet 26 maintain their gripping action On the attachment 30. Inaddition, if it is desired to lift a portion of the sheet 26 whileretaining the other portion thereof clamped at edges thereof, a numberof the fasteners 22 may be released while the other fasteners 22maintain their holding action on the sheet 26. It can be readilyappreciated that if it is desired to shift the sheet 26 laterally withinthe grooves 48 of the fasteners 22, the screws 58 can be slightlyloosened and the sheet 26 moved laterally as desired.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the web portion 32 of the attachment member 30 isdisposed within the groove 28 of the sheet 26. The web portion 32 may bebonded into the groove 28 by any desired process. The attachment member30 may be an extruded soft plastic or, if desired, may be fabricated ofother materials ranging from a relatively hard plastic to a metal. Thefastener 22 is preferably fabricated of metal or hard plastic.

The fastener 22 illustrated in FIGURE 2 may be fabricated by extrusionif desired. However, in order to provide a more stable and rigidanchoring means, the fastener 22 may be fabricated by die casting analuminum or plastic as is illustrated in FIGURE 3. The die cast fastener22 of FIGURE 3 is of one-piece construction,

but similar in shape to the fastener 22 illustrated in FIG- URE 2. InFIGURE 3, the sheet 26 is secured by means of bonding or other suitablemeans to the attachment member 30 shaped in the form of a T andincluding a web portion 32 and a head portion 34. The head portion 34includes a pair of shoulders 36 and 37 facing substantially away from anedge of the sheet 26.

The fastener 22 includes an anchor flange and a back supporting wall 62extending upwardly from the flange 60. A pair of retaining flanges 64and 66 extend from the back supporting wall 62 and have inner surfacesthereof engaging shoulders 36, 37 respectively. The retaining flanges64, 66 with the back supporting wall 62 form a groove 68 for receivingthe head portion 34 of the attachment member 30. A rib 70 extends fromthe back wall 62 to the anchor flange 60 for adding support to thefastener 22. A pair of screws 72 extend through the anchor flange 60 andengage the anchoring surface 20 for securing the fastener 22 thereto.

Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGURE 4and incorporates a quick-release mechanism for removing the sheet 26from the fastener 22 without any great difficulty. As shown in FIGURE 4,an attachment member 74 includes a web portion 76 secured by bonding orother suitable means to an edge of the sheet 26. The attachment member74 also includes a head portion 78 in the shape of an arrowhead andprovided with shoulders 80 and 82 facing the edge of the sheet 26 andslightly facing one another to provide the arrowhead-type configuration.The fastener 22 includes an anchor member 86 which is disposed for beingsecured to an anchor surface by suitable fastening means. A boss 88extends upwardly from a rear portion of the anchor member 86 and agroove 90 is disposed forwardly thereof. The groove 90 includes an innersurface 92 disposed for engaging the shoulder 80 on the attachmentmember 74. A clamping member 94 includes a pair of bosses 96 and 98disposed on opposite sides of the boss 88. A pivot pin 100 extendsthrough the bosses 88, 96, and 98 for pivotally supporting the clampingmember 94 with respect to the anchor member 86. The clamping member 94includes a groove 102 in a bottom surface thereof which also includes asurface for abutting with the shoulder 82 on the attachment member 76.The grooves 90 and 102 provide a channel for the head portion 78 of theattachment member 74.

A bottom surface of the clamping member 94 includes a bevelled portion104 which allows pivotal movement of the clamping member 94 with respectto the anchor member 86 during removal of the attachment memher 74 fromthe respective grooves 90, 102. A retaining pin 106 extends through theboss 88 and is disposed in contacting rerationship with the bevelledsurface 104. Therefore, when the retaining pin 106 is in the positionshown, the clamping member 94 cannot be pivoted with respect to theanchor member 86. This relationship of the parts is illustrated moreclearly in FIGURE 5. As shown therein, the retaining pin 106 does notallow relative pivotal movement of the clamping member 94 with respectto the anchor member 86 when it is inserted through the hole provided inthe boss 88. However, when the retaining pin 106 is withdrawn from thehole provided in the boss 88, the clamping member 94 may be pivotallymoved with respect to the anchor member 86 to allow removal of theattachment member 74.

An alternate embodiment of the fastener structure is illustrated inFIGURE 6 wherein the sheet 26 is attached to a web portion 108terminating in a head portion having a plurality of ribs 110 forminggrooves 112. The ribs 110 are formed in the shape of a hook and defineshoulders 114 facing inwardly toward the grooves 112. The fastener 22includes an anchor member 116 having a plurality of ribs 120 extendingtherefrom and forming grooves 122 therein. The ribs 120 of the anchormember 116 are conformably shaped to the rigs 110 of the sheet 26 andinclude a shoulder 126 disposed for engaging the shoulders 114 on theribs 110. This interlocking engagement of the ribs 110, 120 supports thelateral forces exerted on the sheet 26.

A clamping member 128 includes a top wall 130 which is disposed forextending over the ribs 110 of the sheet 26 and includes an overlappingflange 132 for engaging the web portion 108 adjacent the innermost rib110. Secured to the anchor member 116 is a bushing 134 which extendsupwardly therefrom to a bottom surface of the clamping member 128. Abolt 135 extends upwardly from the bushing 134 through an apertureprovided in the top wall 130 of the clamping member 128. A washer 136 isdisposed between a nut 138 and the top wall 130 of the clamping member128 for retaining the clamping member 128 in fixed relationship with theanchor member 116. The bushing 134 maintains a fixed spaced distancebetween the anchor member 116 and the clamping member 128. When it isdesired to remove the web portion 108 from the fastener 22, the clampingmember 128 may be rotated by loosening the nut 138 on the bolt 135 tothe position shown by the dashed lines in FIGURE 6.

Still another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated inFIGURE 7 which is particularly adapted for hanging non-slidable screensor curtains such as is employed in bathhouses and shower rooms. Asillustrated in FIGURE 7, a sheet 140 is bonded by means of spot welds141 or other suitable means to an attachment member 142. The attachmentmember 142 includes a Web portion 144 and a head portion 146 extendingtherefrom and forming a groove 148 therebetween. An anchor rod 150 whichis disposed for being supported at opposite ends thereof includes a hookportion 152 conformably shaped to the groove 148 and extendingsubstantially around the head portion 146 of the attachment member 142.The hook portion 152 includes holes 154 for allowing removal of waterfrom the channel formed thereby when the device is employed as a showercurtain holder. A spring clamp 154 extends around the anchor rod 150 andaround the head portion 146 of the attachment member 142 and retains thehead portion 146 within the channel formed by the hook member 152.

It can be readily appreciated that the curtain support illustrated inFIGURE 7 can be employed for the conventional rod type of curtainsupport commonly employed for supporting curtains and other types ofscreens. Since the anchor rod 150 and the attachment member 142 of thepresent invention may be extruded or molded of plastic, a relativelyinexpensive curtain support can be provided by the use of the presentinvention.

The principles of the invention explained in connection with thespecific exemplifications thereon will suggest many other applicationsand modifications of the same. It is accordingly desired that inconstruing the breadth of the appended claims they shall not be limitedto the specific details shown and described in connection with theexemplifications thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. A fastener for releasably securing the ends of a sheet to ananchoring surface wherein an end of the sheet includes an enlargedportion, said fastener comprising:

(a) an anchor member formed of a relatively flat plate having onesurface conformably shaped to the anchoring surface and having a groovein one end thereof,

(b) a clamping member formed of a relatively flat plate having a groovein one end thereof, the grooves of said anchor member and said clampingmember forming a channel for the enlarged portion of the sheet, means atthe other ends of said members for pivoting one with respect to theother and spaced from said channel,

(c) releasable means for impeding pivotal movement of said clampingmember with respect to said anchor member, and means for securing saidbase to the anchoring surface, whereby said members abut against eachother when engaging the enlarged portion in said channel.

2. The fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein said releasable meansincludes a pin extending between juxtaposed surfaces of said clampingmember and of said anchor member respectively.

3, The fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein said clamping member andsaid anchor member each include a surface, the surfaces being adjacentone another and movable toward one another during pivotal movement ofsaid members to release the enlarged portion of the sheet, and saidreleasable means including a pin disposed between and in engagement withsaid surfaces.

4. A fastener as defined in claim 1, wherein the en larged portion ofthe sheet is formed with a pair of substantially flat surfaces eachextending substantially orthogonally from opposite surfaces of thesheet, and wherein the grooves of each of said members are formed with asubstantially flat surface which is disposed for engaging acorresponding surface of the enlarged portion to oppose withdrawal ofthe enlarged portion from the channel.

5. A fastener as defined in claim 1, wherein the enlarged portion of thesheet is substantially in the shape of an arrowhead to form a pair ofshoulders facing toward the sheet, and wherein a portion of the channelformed by the grooves of said members is conformably shaped to anddisposed for engaging said shoulders to oppose withdrawal of theenlarged portion from the channel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 685,253 10/ 1901 Caldwell 24-26332,596,635 5/1952 Wolfe "24-251 2,726,056 12/1955 Tatom 160-395 X2,755,484 7/1956 Hotz 4-172 X 2,798,502 7/1957 DAzzo -5 2,898,607 8/1959McGuire 4-172 3,088,559 5/ 1963 Farnsworth -399 3,239,904 5/ 1966 Ausnit24-2013 FOREIGN PATENTS 171,562 6/1952 Austria. 1,100,329 4/1955 France.1,214,911 11/1959 France.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner,

1. A FASTENER FOR RELEASABLY SECURING THE ENDS OF A SHEET TO ANANCHORING SURFACE WHEREIN AN END OF THE SHEET INCLUDES AN ENLARGEDPORTION, SAID FASTENER COMPRISING: (A) AN ANCHOR MEMBER FORMED OF ARELATIVELY FLAT PLATE HAVING ONE SURFACE CONFORMABLY SHAPED TO THEANCHORING SURFACE AND HAVING A GROOVE IN ONE END THEREOF, (B) A CLAMPINGMEMBER FORMED OF A RELATIVELY FLAT PLATE HAVING A GROOVE IN ONE ENDTHEREOF, THE GROOVES OF SAID ANCHOR MEMBER AND SAID CLAMPING MEMBERFORMING A CHANNEL FOR THE ENLARGED PORTION OF THE SHEET, MEANS AT THEOTHER ENDS OF SAID MEMBER FOR PIVOTING ONE WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER ANDSPACED FROM SAID CHANNEL, (C) RELEASABLE MEANS FOR IMPEDING PIVOTALMOVEMENT OF SAID CLAMPING MEMBER WITH RESPECT TO SAID ANCHOR MEMBER, ANDMEANS FOR SECURING SAID BASE TO THE ANCHORING SURFACE, WHEREBY SAIDMEMBERS ABUT AGAINST EACH OTHER WHEN ENGAGING THE ENLARGED PORTION INSAID CHANNEL.